With a record edition, Cologne is ready to host Interzum 2013 for the business of supplies and semifinished materials for the furniture industry.
Official figures indicate over 1,500 exhibitors, up by a few percent points from two years ago. As much as 70 percent of companies come to exhibit in Cologne from abroad, from sixty countries approximately. Among them, 250 Italian companies, the largest foreign delegation, followed by Turkey and Spain.
Also exhibition surface has grown, though not much, reaching about 160 thousand square meters.
So, record figures. No explosive growth, but in times like these, it is really a big pleasure to find an exhibition that, rather than minimizing damage, is recording an improvement of all significant figures.
We are confident we will be pleased also when we see the numbers of visitors attending the show. In 2011 there were 53 thousand, including 60 percent from 147 foreign countries. Organizers suggest that, also for visitors, there might be some small but pleasant surprise, at least based on preregistrations… we will see.
We won’t forget the most “peculiar” piece of information, namely this year Interzum is running from Monday 13 to Thursday 16 May, a new placement that saves the weekend. And for the first time it will follow Ligna (Hanover, 6-10 May), instead of coming before, as it has always been. So, this year, the dates of the two shows of the “German May” have a couple of days in between for a break… Not bad: collaboration is not reduced, quite the opposite, as with one ticket you can visit both exhibitions.
THOMAS ROSOLIA
Let’s give the word to Thomas Rosolia, general manager of Koeln Messe Italia, satisfied with over 250 Italian companies coming to Cologne, forty more than in 2011, “… and there might have been even more, if we had had the necessary space in the halls”.Anyway, Rosolia is very happy the way things have gone, also because it is more and more evident that Interzum has no rivals: it’s the real, big cathedral of the complex and rich world of supplies and semifinished materials for the furniture industry.
“Interzum is really exceeding our most optimistic expectations”, Rosolia says. “We scored a new record in terms of exhibitors and square meters, both for the exhibition as a whole and for the Italian team.This result is a reward to our work and a reaffirmation of a more widespread and articulated trend:the exhibition business is experiencing strong consolidation.It’s been very clear for a long time now that the global economy will revolve around three regions where you must be absolutely present.I mean Europe, Asia and South America.Companies will have to select a preferred exhibition in each market, they will have to choose the place where they want to introduce themselves at their best, building a hub for their sales, market and product promotion activities.I think nobody can deny that, in Europe, 80 percent of major exhibitions are in Germany.In Italy, there is only one exhibition left that can be considered a must, I’m talking about the Saloni, which once again proved their leading role in the past weeks.
But apart from this single exception, German exhibitions offer a successful combination, in terms of services and quality of exhibitors and visitors.
In this respect, Interzum in May will reaffirm its role of reference exhibition for the targeted industries worldwide.We have added two halls compared to 2011, and unfortunately, we still have waiting lists.It’s a biennial event no company can miss if they want to have a place to interact with the global market.
The “Interzum system” is getting more and more established and Italian companies bet on this, because their stage is the world, even more now that domestic demand is stagnating”.
“During four days at Interzum – Rosolia continues – we will present initiatives and events to support sales and business at the exhibitions; these events have become very popular among the companies of made-in-Italy.More than in the past, we see that they are willing to attend any event that can offer a different vision of their products, while looking at markets, trends and operators from a different perspective.
More than in the past, you have to pay great attention to all signals, wherever they come from, any way they are generated:new ideas, new habits, new materials.Any spur can trigger a new route, that’s why Koeln Messe has committed to offering different ways to read the present and, most of all, to investigate the future.
An exhibition is and will always be a business place, but it must also be an observatory for trends, possible developments, what’s going to happen.With our side events, we want to cast spotlights on new visions, new designs, ideas of what might happen, materials used in other industries, other products, other technology.
Not to mention that these event attract companies, operators and experts from other industries, visitors belonging to different categories from those we know, opening up new opportunities for our exhibitors.
A modern and effective exhibition that must also be an incubator of opportunities”.
Mr. Rosolia, you have just mentioned “Interzum system”,,,
“I am thinking about Interzum Guangzhou, an established reference in China.We have been able to develop an exhibition model that is complementary to Cologne, an exhibition where 80 percent of exhibitors are Chinese and look at their domestic market, these companies are not interested in approaching the European market, they have enough of Chinese demand.
On the Rhine, there are big international organizations, world-class companies.Maybe there are some Chinese or Asian companies, but actually those with global operations and skills, with requirements and methods that are similar to all other Interzum exhibitors.It’s a high-end showcase, if you allow this definition, combined with a high-quality exhibition, a format designed for China, where all companies interested in this huge market can participate”.
The same for Rooms Moscow…
“Yes, the same applies to Rooms Moscow, a collection of all living-related exhibitions staged in Cologne (from Orgatec to Imm, from LivingKitchen to LivingInteriors, from Interzum to Gafa-Spoga…) starting this year.The 2013 edition will be a test, a trial for a model that might have good chances.This year, home and office furniture will be under the spotlights, together with outdoor furniture:there will be approximately 600 exhibitors, including about thirty Italians.It’s an experiment, I repeat, that we believe will lay the foundations for future expansion.
Let me add that biennial frequency is the most suitable for a big show like Interzum, supported by the “networked” events I have just mentioned in interesting markets offering business opportunities.I repeat it again:KoelnMesse is very keen on these and other opportunities, on the search of new and different solutions that are not just business for organizers, but tangible opportunities for exhibitors and their customers”.
And what about Italian collective pavilions?
“This is a reason for great satisfaction for the Italian subsidiary, as we organize collective pavilions virtually in all Koeln Messe exhibitions.At Interzum 2013 there will be “Spazio Italia” in hall 8 for hardware, another area in hall 6 for panels, and one in hall 5.2 for mechanisms and components.Thirty companies on the whole.Our pavilions are going well, demand is increasing because it’s a service, especially for small and medium businesses approaching a market for the first time or unwilling to deal with logistics, as they prefer to focus on their product.We give them full service at a fixed price and with more visibility”.
EVENTS
A few notes, continuing our report from the previous issue, about areas dedicated to specific topics, which are now three, with the benefit of a better overview of the event. “Materials & Nature”: halls 5.1 and 6 will gather companies operating in the wood industry, veneers, parquet flooring, decorative surfaces, decorative papers, laminates, wood-based materials, plastic-laminated sheet materials, mineral materials, edgings, surface treatments, etc.
The second area is called “Function & Components” (halls 3.2, 4.2, 5.2, 7 e 8), featuring semifinished materials, hardware, elements, seals, locks and components. “Textile & Machinery”, in Halls 9 and 10, dedicated to materials and technology for upholstered elements, mattresses, coatings and leatherware…
There will also be the “Innovation of interior” squares; here, among other things, you will find unusual materials, “smart” surfaces still relatively unknown. The latter will be the stars of a special show called “Smart materials”, featuring kitchen tiles that change color, surfaces that repel bacteria, or floorings that purify air (we are really curious to find out what it means…).
Within so much innovation, there will still be the pleasure of seeing and touching wood, the undisputed star of “Materials & Nature” in hall 6, while hall 10.1 will be the “textile place”, with all sorts of topics, up to fabrics for car seats, and a real production line running “live”.
A special remark for the ever interesting “Interzum Award”. Also this year, some Italian companies had excellent results: Italiana Ferramenta for hardware, Cleaf in “materials and surfaces”, Ovattificio Fortunato for the world of upholstery. We will talk about it after the exhibition: until then, our congratulations to the companies that have waved the made-in-Italy banner up high.
We repeat what we have already written about the event in hall 11.2, the “Innova Materia” congress, a debate about materials, not only for furniture; this might be a great occasion to collect ideas and “flairs” to introduce into our world, which has never been so much in need of new blood.
Interzum ready to start…
ultima modifica: 2013-05-13T00:00:00+00:00
da
